


the deaths of ardyn

by GriffinHuntress



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Episode Ardyn Prologue Spoilers, Episode Ardyn Spoilers, Gen, Other, and introspection, just a lot of suffering really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 23:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18434174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GriffinHuntress/pseuds/GriffinHuntress
Summary: what does it feel like to die? more importantly, how does it feel to wake again and realize one is not dead?





	the deaths of ardyn

The first time it happens, he doesn't know where he is. 

Ardyn's eyes blink open and he's sprawled on a dirty, hard stone floor - _surely_ , it's all a mistake. A horrible nightmare. But his clothes are torn in ways that he's afraid to think too much about, implying serious - _mortal_ even - wounds, though the skin underneath is unblemished save for light, silvery scars that imply the wounds are much older than he thinks.

There's blood on him too, blood he prays is his - but is terrified isn't.

When he steps into the sun, he collapses to his knees, sick to his stomach. He's not felt this ill before, not since the first time he healed another. It doesn't leave him until he hides away in the shadows again. He's afraid but can't allow himself to consider what it could mean.

When Ardyn first walks into a village, he's greeted with hostile stares, frightened whispers, and closed doors  - those few he manages to speak to shy away, refuse to answer, and flee as soon as they're able. One man throws a rock and it hits the back of his head, causing him to stumble; emboldened, soon others join in and he is forced to flee.

_Cursed; monster; daemon,_ they call after him.

He returns to his old ways, avoiding the high roads and other humans as best he can, until, with a whispered apology and a prayer for the man, Ardyn steals a cloak from another traveler while the man is sleeping. This way at least, his distinctive hair and build are hidden from casual observation - even a single gust of wind is still more than enough to expose him.

He won't believe his memories until he sees it with his own eyes. After all, none of it makes any sense. _How could Somnus -- How could **Aera** \--_

When Ardyn returns to his old home, it's not hard for him to slip past the guards. He's done this so many times before, always innocently; sneaking out to visit an ancient ruin, someone ill, just to escape from the stifling, tension-filled air in the citadel…

When he walks into the main hall, he pushes past the supplicants, coming to stand in the middle of the floor, trying to ignore the trembling as images he can't believe - _not Aera, not Somnus, not his **own death**_ \- threaten to overwhelm him. He pulls back his hood and raises his eyes - **there** is his brother sitting the throne, passing judgements he _has no right to!_

The look of sickened shock and absolute horror on Somnus's face tells him everything he needs to know; around him, he hears murmurs and whispers ripple through those gathered.

_It's him; how dare a daemon take the form of Lord Caelum to lead us astray; let the man's memory at least remain untainted._

The woman at his side bears the Oracle's trident, and she rests her hand on his brother's shoulder with an intimate familiarity - but that _cannot_ be right…!

Before Ardyn can demand answers, he feels his brother's blade bury itself in his chest - and then Ardyn's vision goes dark as astral blades slam into his body, knocking him to the floor.

 

The second time he wakes, he knows the hard stone he finds himself on - **_Angelgard_ **\- and he knows that what he recalls must be true, no matter how much he begs and prays it isn't.

This time, he finds Aera's grave - right next to one that claims to be his own. It's also where they find him. That woman who is **not** his Oracle binds him; his brother's blue-grey eyes are still sickened, but cold, detached... Ardyn knows that look; it's the way his brother looks at the victims of his cruelty - Somnus is explaining that this must be done for the good of the people, and _he must_ understand, doesn't he?

He doesn't care, and he's not listening, Ardyn just begs to be buried next to Aera. He pleads for them to let him stay with her, in whatever living hell he’s found himself trapped in.

None of them pay no heed to him. He is nothing to them now; not a king, not a Lucis Caelum, just a nameless criminal. His name has been struck from the official records.

He barely even feels it when they drive the chains into him, but so it begins, an eternity of injury and healing, over and over and over and over again… At times, Ardyn begs the gods to tell him what he's done to deserve this punishment - if he's been condemned, then so be it, he is not ashamed of his choices and actions… _but what sin do they say he's committed_ …!

When he receives no answer, eventually he simply falls utterly silent…

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I wrote anything this long, but it was in my head and i had to write it?? I might write more, we'll see, I guess? I also haven't ever posted on ao3 before... XD


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